Norma McCorvey, who was at center of Roe v. Wade, dead at 69

Share this:

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

WASHINGTON, : This 21 January, 1998, file photo shows Norma McCorvey, the woman at the center of the US Supreme Court ruling on abortion, testifies before a US Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee during hearings on the 25th anniversary of Roe v. Wade on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. McCorvey's lawsuit led to the landmark 1973 US Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion asked a court 16 June, 2003 to overturn the ruling. In her affidavit filed with the US District Court in Dallas, Texas, McCorvey, the 'Jane Roe' in Roe vs Wade, said the case was wrongfully decided. She wants US courts to consider new evidence that abortion hurt her and other women. If McCorvey's motion for a hearing is granted, the proceedings could open the door for the Supreme Court to revisit the case, but legal experts said such an outcome is unlikely. AFP PHOTO/Chris KLEPONIS/FILES (Photo credit should read CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Norma McCorvey, who was at center of Roe v. Wade, dead at 69

WASHINGTON, : This 21 January, 1998, file photo shows Norma McCorvey, the woman at the center of the US Supreme Court ruling on abortion, testifies before a US Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee during hearings on the 25th anniversary of Roe v. Wade on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. McCorvey's lawsuit led to the landmark 1973 US Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion asked a court 16 June, 2003 to overturn the ruling. In her affidavit filed with the US District Court in Dallas, Texas, McCorvey, the 'Jane Roe' in Roe vs Wade, said the case was wrongfully decided. She wants US courts to consider new evidence that abortion hurt her and other women. If McCorvey's motion for a hearing is granted, the proceedings could open the door for the Supreme Court to revisit the case, but legal experts said such an outcome is unlikely. AFP PHOTO/Chris KLEPONIS/FILES (Photo credit should read CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP/Getty Images)

DALLAS — Norma McCorvey, the “Jane Roe” at the center of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, has died. She was 69.

Journalist Joshua Prager, who is working on a book about McCorvey, says she died Saturday morning at an assisted living center in Katy, Texas.

Although McCorvey was the plaintiff in Roe v. Wade, she later became an anti-abortion activist.

She revealed her real name in the 1980s. She also said she had lied when she said her 1969 pregnancy that set Roe v. Wade in motion was the result of a rape. As the court case progressed, she gave birth and gave her daughter up for adoption.